Federal Update: January 2023

The last few weeks of 2022 and the first couple of weeks of 2023 have marked a busy time for the federal government. Over just a few weeks, we’ve witnessed the passage of a massive, $1.7 trillion federal spending deal, news about awardees of Preschool Development Grants, and a wild start to a new Congress. Below is more information about these developments and how they impact early care and education.

Omnibus Spending Package

On December 29, President Biden signed into law a $1.7 trillion federal spending bill that will keep the government operating through September 2023. The bill includes more than $2.8 billion in funding increases for federal early care and education programs. Most notably, the bill provides $1.8 billion in additional funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, a 30 percent increase from FY2022. That increase represents the second largest increase in discretionary funding in the history of the program (the largest ever increase occurred in FY2018 when funding was boosted by $2.4 billion). Of course, given the child care crisis the country is currently facing and decades of insufficient funding the program has received, the need for long term, sustainable federal funding of child care remains, but the boost in CCDBG funding is definitely a welcome step in the right direction.

The spending package also provides a $960 million increase for Head Start and Early Head Start, an additional $25 million for the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program, a $10.4 million increase for IDEA Part B Preschool Grants, and an additional $43.7 million for IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Toddlers. The spending bill was a product of lengthy negotiations between congressional Democrats and Republicans.

Preschool Development Grants

In September, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced $266 million in Preschool Development Grants Birth through Five (PDG B-5) planning and renewal grants. ACF is expected to award 10 planning grants and 24 renewal grants to states, each with a floor of $500,000. State applications were due in November and some state awardees have already been publicly announced, including Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.

In their applications, states were encouraged to focus on needs created by the pandemic as well as strategies for strengthening and supporting the ECE workforce. In the past, states that received PDB B-5 awards have focused on a few different approaches to improve their ECE systems, such as strengthening the transition between early childhood and the early elementary grades, increasing program operating and cost efficiencies, and ensuring that families are connected to any needed services.

New Congress

The 118th Congress got off to an inauspicious beginning on January 3 as the House of Representatives convened to tackle their first order of business - electing a Speaker of the House. This process, typically accomplished on the first day of a new Congress, ultimately stretched into a five-day, 15-ballot floor fight before Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally emerged victorious. The lengthy fight, which concluded only after McCarthy made various concessions to the far right, highlights the difficulties he will face in governing over the next two years with an extremely slim majority that includes a far right faction intent on slashing spending.

It was only after McCarthy was elected Speaker that new members of Congress could be officially sworn in and the business of deciding committee leadership positions could be undertaken. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) defeated Tim Walberg (R-MI) to once again lead the House Education and Workforce Committee as Chairwoman. In a statement released shortly after her victory, Foxx promised that her top priority would be “conducting vigorous and sustained oversight of the federal government, especially the Departments of Education and Labor.” She wasted no time in exercising her powers of oversight, sending a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona requesting more information about free speech and academic freedom in higher education.

While much of Foxx’s attention is expected to be focused on higher education issues, such as the Biden administration’s plans for student loan debt cancellation, it remains unclear how closely she’ll be focused on issues related to early care and education. In the past, Foxx has called for increased oversight of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and has criticized plans to increase federal spending on pre-K and child care.

On the Senate side, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a longtime proponent of increased federal spending on pre-K and child care, will chair the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will chair the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

New America’s Early and Elementary Education Policy program will continue to monitor and bring you the latest news when it comes to early care and education and the federal government.

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